


Lost Girl

by Hopeswimsfree



Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:33:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopeswimsfree/pseuds/Hopeswimsfree
Summary: Takes place after 1.09 when Will is held captive. The team is home and safe, but all is not well.





	Lost Girl

“A toast,”

One by one, hands are raised.

“to the team back together again!”

A tumbler of whiskey, a bottle of beer, a glass of wine.

“To Will still having all of his organs.”

A treasured tradition since their family of six was born.

“To that grenade not exploding in my hand. Seriously guys, that was not a cool joke.”

Reuniting at The Dead Drop after each mission to celebrate a hard fought victory. 

“Salud!”

Win or lose because in their line of work, ending a mission alive is a victory every time.

“Cheers!”

Frankie forces a smile, takes a swig of her beer and walks away only to be interrupted by the gentle brush of Will’s fingers against her wrist. 

“Everything ok?” 

It hadn’t taken Will long to notice that aside from the joking during his rescue and when they left Standish with the grenade, Frankie hasn’t been acting like herself.

“Yup,” cursing the emotional microscope that always seems to find her. She doesn’t bother hiding her irritation with pleasantries as she escapes to the quiet of the other room.

Concern and disappointment color Will’s face as he watches her walk away, “That was not convincing.” 

The distance and chill present at the beginning of their partnership seem to have returned from this mission along with them. He has no idea why and it feels as eerily unsettling now as it did then. 

“What’s her problem? I didn’t even say anything offensive yet.” Ray laughs. 

Will takes a seat across from him at the table, “Not helpful.” 

No more than a few minutes pass before he’s rising from his chair to go find out what’s wrong with his partner until Jai’s hand gets in the way. 

“I’ve got this.” 

Reluctantly, Will stands down as Jai goes to speak with Frankie. As much as he hates it, he’s smart enough to admit that sometimes it’s better to defer to Jai when it comes to her. They were friends long before she and Will ever met and Jai could get to the bottom of what bothered her faster than anyone here. If he went in there, he and Frankie would probably just end up fighting anyway.

Instead of staying with the group, Will makes his way over to the bar. Celebrating without her never felt quite right and today was no different.

Susan heads over to him. They’ve known each other a lot of years and she’s never seen anyone affect him the way Frankie does. She knows it’s no accident that he’s chosen a stool at the corner of the bar closest to the room she’s in.

“And then there were two.” Ray, forever amused by his own jokes. 

Eyes wide, Standish’s head swivels around looking for someone, anyone to save him. 

“Give her some time. That mission was rough on her.” 

He takes a drink and scoffs at that statement, “Rough on HER? Frankie could run that mission with her eyes closed.”

“You know, for a smart guy, you couldn’t be more of an idiot when it comes to her.”

His face scrunches up in disbelief, “What? How am I the idiot in this scenario? I’m the guy who was just held hostage, tortured and almost died in a real life game of Operation.”

“Exactly! You really worried her.” 

“I doubt that. Frankie’s all about keeping things separate and being a pro. Minimal emotional attachments so that her judgement stays crystal clear and mission focused.” 

He pauses, connecting the dots between the appalled look on Susan’s face with the thick sarcasm in his voice, ”She said everything went fine.”

If he wasn’t acting like such a jerk right now, she’d laugh at how stubborn and clueless he’s being. 

“Of course she said that. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t difficult for her to get through it. Why are you being so dense?”

“I’m not!”

“You just said she’s minimally attached to you. That seems pretty dense to me.”

Of course it was a ridiculous thing to say and he regretted it. He and Frankie had grown to be solid partners who care about each other more than either is brave enough to admit. A partnership that’s led them to this weird, volatile cycle of denial that neither knows how to escape. 

“Fine. Look, I’m just trying to prove a point here. Frankie doesn’t need me to do her job.”

“No, she doesn’t but she has gotten used to working on these missions with you around. That means relying on you more often than she’s relied on anyone at the CIA and being upset by the idea of your imminent death."

Will turns and looks at her.

“Frankie’s told me a thousand times that she doesn’t need me to help her.” 

“Why are you being so stubborn? You know she doesn’t mean that.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

With nothing else getting through to Will, Susan resorts to a death stare.

“Ok, sometimes I do but sometimes I’m not so sure she doesn’t actually mean it. She sounds like she means it.”

“Saying it is just an instinct for her. Like yours is to say hello to strangers.”

Will smiles at the thought, “It does just pop out of my mouth without even thinking. You never know who you’re going to meet or whose day you’ll brighten.”

“Will, when something’s hard for you what do you do?”

“I reach out to the people around me for help.”

“Right. When something’s hard for Frankie, she doubles down to prove to everyone around her that she’s just as capable of doing it as anyone else. She’s constantly had to prove herself. It’s not such an easy habit to break even when you trust people.”

He’s very familiar with this. It frustrates him. Over and over again. 

“Will, whether you want to believe it or not, she was really scared we weren’t going to get you back.”

It’s easier to think it was just another mission. That she wasn’t upset. Easier not to wonder if being scared made her rethink their relationship. “Frankie’s tough as nails and not afraid of anything.” 

“Everyone’s scared of something Will. You know that and you know that’s why she’s so hard to get close to.”

“Well, that and she’s oppositional defiant, has problems with authority, is impulsive - I can go on. I made a long list awhile back.” 

That was the last straw and Susan punches him in the arm. Frankie would be proud. 

“Ouch.” 

“I’m not apologizing, you deserved that. Frankie’s terrified of losing people she loves. That’s probably why she ended things with you before it went any further.” 

“She said….”

“What she thought was going to protect her at the time. It’s what she does. How she’s gotten this far in one piece.”

“Great, she flips a switch to protect herself and we’re back at the beginning again. Every time. That doesn’t seem very fair.” 

“I know it feels like that, but that’s not what’s happening. Look, you get upset and you emotionally vomit all over everyone.”

Will looks offended, “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“Hey, it’s true. You vomit then feel better. No judgement here. Frankie’s different. She gets upset and gets all prickly to push people away.

He rubs his head. He knows this all too well. What he doesn’t know is why he’s drawn to her, in spite of this, like a moth to a flame. 

"The thing is, she doesn’t stay prickly forever. She gives herself just enough space and time to figure things out then opens up again.” 

“Maybe I’m running out of patience, Sus.”

Susan smiles and leans over, squeezing his shoulder, “You can tell yourself that honey, but we both know you’re a long way from that happening which is why you planted yourself here intending not to move until she comes out.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about this time, Sus.”

“No? Let’s see how long you’ll sit here waiting for her to come out of that room so that you can be the first person to talk to her.”

He already knows the answer…as long as it takes to know that Frankie’s really okay.


End file.
